Batavia Chamber Of Commerce: Building Trades Classes Continue To “Frame” A Great Partnership With Boardwalk Shops

Press release from Batavia Chamber of Commerce:

April 15, 2021

Photos for this story can be found HERE. Photo credit: Jamie Saam Marking the two-year partnership with the Boardwalk Shops, Batavia High School students put hammer to nail on two new Boardwalk Shops today. The relationship has been one for the history books as both partners have seen great returns on their investment. Today, thirty-five students from the BHS Building Trades II classes assembled two Boardwalk Shops on the site of their successful economic development project at 114 E. Wilson Street in downtown Batavia. The students had built the frame kits in their shop inside of Batavia High School over the past couple of months and the BPS101 Maintenance Team moved them down to the construction site for final assembly today. Jamie Saam, Boardwalk Shops Manager, credits the volunteer team at Batavia MainStreet for the success of this build. She says that Batavia MainStreet Board President Bob Hansen has been the driving force of the construction with assistance from Dave Brown, longtime Batavia Alderman and now Kane County Board Member. Bob forged a relationship with Bronco Meeks, Building Trades Teacher at BHS, and has carried the project forward. The Building Trades program at BHS built homes in the community for many years, but due to the declining housing market in the late 2000s, were forced to become creative with their hands-on work projects for the students. The students began building “Small-scale homes” in the shop, then demolish them at the end of the semester. When the idea to partner to build something that would become a usable product again became available, Brian Gamlin, Assistant Principal at BHS, was excited about the opportunity. “The Building Trades Program at BHS experienced declining enrollment after the real hands-on projects out in the community ended in the late 2000s. We were looking for a way to transform the program to meet the demands of the construction industry. The partnership with Batavia MainStreet and the Boardwalk Shops has helped us develop a robust and full program again. This semester we had two full sections of Building Trades II for a total of 40 students.” BPS101 hopes to continue the partnership with Batavia MainStreet in years to come. With the 9th and 10th shops being built this year, there is still room for the expansion of at least two more shops next year. Jamie Saam says, “Through this economic development program, seven new businesses that operated out of the Boardwalk Shops last year have expanded out of their spaces to be brick and mortar renters in Batavia in 2021. That is a true indicator of the success of these incubator spaces.” Beth Walker, Executive Director of Batavia MainStreet says, “With total sales of over $330,000 last season, the Boardwalk Shop businesses were a real bright spot in downtown during a difficult time for local business.” The Boardwalk Shops will open with 10 new businesses this season on May 28. For more information on the Shops and all things happening in downtown Batavia, visit downtownbatavia.com.

This press release was produced by Batavia Chamber of Commerce. The views expressed here are the author’s own.